Cheap Hits: Should the Canucks trade Luongo?

Welcome to the first edition of Cheap Hits, a look at hot topics in hockey and some of the week’s best.

Should the Canucks trade Roberto Luongo?

The Vancouver Canucks were the deepest team in the league last year, and arguably this season as well. They were poised to win the Cup, until they were met with a grittier, hungrier Boston Bruins team. Star goaltender Roberto Luongo was also outplayed by Conn Smythe winner Tim Thomas on the other side of the ice in goal. Luongo’s struggles have been heavily publicized, especially when facing the Chicago Blackhawks, but his subpar play in the Finals last summer had many Canucks fans wanting to riot ( which they did).

This season, Luongo is off to a rough start. So far in six contests, he has posted a record of 2-3-1 with a goals-against average of 3.45 and a save percentage of .868, not good numbers for your franchise goalie. Luongo’s massive contract has him signed until 2022, an absurd length that may make him hard to trade.

Do the Canucks make a move and trade him now while he still has value and young backup Cory Schneider has shown he could be a starter, or do they ride it out and see if he can bring Vancouver the Cup? The Canucks traded for top-sixth forward David Booth last week, showing they aren’t afraid to shake things up a little bit. But what about shaking things up a lot?

Could the pressure be too much for Luongo? He previously played for the Florida Panthers and made a name for himself as one of the NHL’s best by keeping his team in games when they were grossly out shot on a nightly basis. But playing in Florida is a lot different than playing in hockey-crazed Canada.

The Canucks would gain salary cap flexibility of they could move Luongo, but they’d have to find a team willing to take on his ridiculous contract and in desperate need for goaltending. The Tampa Bay Lightning have a strong core for a Cup run but lack goaltending and could use a star in net, but for cap relief a hefty contract, say captain Vincent Lecavalier ( signed to 2020) must go back the other way. Ottawa and division rival San Jose could use some goaltending, but either way if a deal was to be made, it would likely be a blockbuster.

What will the Oiler do with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins?

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the Oilers No.1 pick in the 2011 draft, has been lighting it up so far on a line with 2010 No. 1 pick Taylor Hall and another young gem in Jordan Eberle. The 18-year old Nugent-Hopkins, or “The Nuge” as Oilers’ fans have nicknamed him, has scored five goals and three assists so far this season. The Oilers top line is dynamic, but a tough decision looms; send him back to juniors or see if he can keep up his hot hand in the NHL.

The Oilers have till game No. 9 to make the decision. Nugent-Hopkins doesn’t look out of place with the big boys and if he continues to produce and play well while getting top-six minutes, “The Nuge” should stay.